I have some important announcements to make, and I hope that you will take the time to read this entire letter.
CONFERENCE: We are busy finalizing plans for our next International Conference, to take place in the US in Boston, in the fall of 2019. We’re excited about the conference, and hope to announce more details over the coming weeks.
LEADERSHIP: I have been chosen by the IEDTA board to succeed Jessica Bolton as IEDTA President. Jessica has been awarded a literally-once-in-lifetime opportunity for sponsored study, which made it impossible for her to continue as our President. We are grateful for her hard work on behalf of our organization, and wish her the best in her upcoming endeavo(u)rs.
WE NEED YOU: I am proud of many IEDTA accomplishments including our listserv, our conferences, our certification program, and our website. One of the places where I think we have not done a great job is in involving individuals in the EDT community. One of the paradoxes of being an organization run by volunteers with many other commitments is that is difficult to find the time to bring more people in to share the workload!
So we need your help! If you are not an IEDTA member, please join! Membership dues support our ongoing activities, and also enable us to pay part-time staff such as Rebecca Hughes. When we can do this, board members are freed from day-to-day tasks, making service to the organization more sustainable. If you are a member, thank you, and I hope you will renew when your current membership lapses. Membership entitles you to a listing in our Therapist Directory on our website and a discounted rate for the conference; we aim to add more membership benefits in the future.
I also hope that you will find a way to get involved in the organization. Unfortunately, I don’t know the best way to do that at the moment. That is why we are looking for a chair of our Membership Committee, who can build a path to a more member-involved and member-focused organization. Such a person needs to be committed to a “big-tent” vision of the IEDTA, and would ideally have contacts in various parts of the EDT world. If that person is you, or if you have an idea of who it might be, please let me know.
I look forward to working with you all, and hopefully to seeing many of you here in Boston in the fall of 2019!
With all best wishes,
Nat Kuhn
President, IEDTA
nk@natkuhn.com